In statehouses across the country, lawmakers with loved ones who fell victim to drugs are leading the fight against the nation's deadly opioid-abuse crisis, drawing on tragic personal experience to attack the problem.

A teenager on Christmas break in the UK reportedly stabbed his mother, then cut off his penis while allegedly high on the party drug meow meow, otherwise known as mephedrone, a synthetic, amphetamine-like stimulant.

A novel New Zealand law that could legalize some designer drugs is being scrutinized with interest by other countries struggling to keep up with the proliferation of "party pills" and similar products.